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An Elder is a respected individual in Indigenous communities who has many roles and responsibilities including knowledge keeping and ensuring cultural continuity. [1]

Elders are often viewed as teachers, healers, advisors, and counsellors and their knowledge is specific to certain communities. [1]

An Elder is “someone with enough life experience and knowledge of Indigenous traditions to offer guidance and teaching grounded within that experience and knowledge.” [1]

Learn More:

Backgrounder: Considerations for Meaningful Collaboration: Highlights from A Conversation with Indigenous Elders – Learning Network

Special Event: Considerations for Meaningful Collaboration: A Conversation with Indigenous Elders – Learning Network

Footnotes:

Implicit bias “is a form of bias that occurs automatically and unintentionally, that nevertheless affects judgements, decisions, and behaviours.” [1]

Implicit bias can impact how individuals get treated by other individuals either on a personal level or within services and programs.

Implicit bias can lead to stereotypes, overgeneralization, and discrimination.

Within the context of gender inequality, implicit gender bias “refers to the unequal treatment that arises from stereotypes and associations [based on their gender] that we are not consciously aware of in the moment when they occur.” [2]

Learn More:

Backgrounder: “More Exposed And Less Protected” In Canada: Systemic Racism And COVID-19 – Learning Network

Brief: Trafficking at the Intersections: Racism, Colonialism, Sexism, and Exploitation in Canada – Learning Network

Footnotes:

[1] National Institutes of Health. (2022). Implicit Bias. 

[2] Brands, R. (2022). We Should Stop Talking About Implicit Gender Bias and Here’s Why. UCL School of Management. Retrieved from https://www.mgmt.ucl.ac.uk/blog/we-should-stop-talking-about-implicit-gender-bias-heres-why#:~:text=Implicit%20gender%20bias%20refers%20to,the%20moment%20when%20they%20occur.

“[A] a person who has settled permanently in another country.” [1]

“You may also hear… illegal immigrant/Illegal – these terms are problematic because they criminalize the person, rather than the act of entering or remaining irregularly in a country.  International law recognizes refugees may need to enter a country without official documents or authorization. It would be misleading to describe them as ‘illegal migrants.’ Similarly, a person without status may have been coerced by traffickers: such a person should be recognized as a victim of crime, not treated as a wrong-doer.” [1]

Learn More:

• Website: Neighbours, Friends & Families – Immigrant and Refugee Communities
• Website: Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants
• Issue-Based Newsletter: Intimate Partner Violence Against Immigrant and Refugee Women – Learning Network

Footnotes:

 [1] Canadian Council for Refugees. (2010, Sept). Refugees and immigrants: A glossary. Retrieved from https://ccrweb.ca/en/glossary

Short for “involuntary celibate,” incel is a misogynist extremist movement “which holds that men intrinsically deserve to have sex with women, but whose adherents are generally not having sex with women.” [1]

This movement is currently associated with right-wing online subcultures such as “men’s rights activism.” [1] “Incels… believe women owe them sex, and if they’re not having sex, they blame women—all women. The term ‘incel’ initially had no association with violence against women. It was actually coined in 1993 by a young Canadian woman as a label for her own perpetually single status.” [1]

The term has gained attention in light of the stated motives of killers involved in the Isla Vista femicides (2014) and the Toronto van attack (2018), and the subsequent celebration of these murders by members of the Incel community.

Learn More:

• Issue-Based Newsletter: Thirty Years after the Montréal Massacre – Learning Network

Footnote:

[1] Anti-Defamation League. (2018). When women are the enemy: The intersection of misogyny and white supremacy. Centre on Extremism. Anti-Defamation League. Retrieved from https://www.adl.org/media/11707/download

According to the Department of Justice Canada, “every one commits incest who, knowing that another person is by blood relationship his or her parent, child, brother, sister, grandparent or grandchild, as the case may be, has sexual intercourse with that person. Everyone who commits incest is guilty of an indictable offence and is liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than 14 years and, if the other person is under the age of 16 years, to a minimum punishment of imprisonment for a term of five years. No accused shall be determined by a court to be guilty of an offence under this section if the accused was under restraint, duress or fear of the person with whom the accused had the sexual intercourse at the time the sexual intercourse occurred.” [1]

Footnotes:

[1] Criminal Code (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-46). Retrieved from https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-46/section-155.html

“There are three constitutionally defined Indigenous groups in Canada including First Nations, Metis, and Inuit (FNMI). To reflect the diversity of Indigenous peoples and to include all, regardless of status, nationhood, membership or community affiliation, the terms Indigenous and FNMI are applied interchangeably. It is acknowledged that many FNMI people refer to themselves differently and in their own languages.” [1]

Learn More:

• Issue-Based Newsletter: Indigenous Women, Intimate Partner Violence & Housing – Learning Network
• Webinar: Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women – Learning Network
• Website: Ontario Native Women's Association (ONWA)

Footnotes:

 [1] Ontario Native Women’s Association. (2018) Indigenous women, intimate partner violence and housing. Learning Network Newsletter Issue 25. London, Ontario: Centre for Research & Education on Violence Against Women & Children. ISBN # 978-1-988412-19-1. Retrieved from http://www.vawlearningnetwork.ca/our-work/issuebased_newsletters/Issue-25/index.html

“At their root, Indigenous feminisms examine how gender and conceptions of gender influence the lives of Indigenous peoples, historically and today. Indigenous feminist approaches challenge stereotypes about Indigenous peoples, gender and sexuality, for instance, as they appear in politics, society and the media. Indigenous feminisms offer frameworks for learning about and understanding these, and other issues, regardless of one’s gender or ethnicity.’

Although gender, sex and sexuality are central in Indigenous feminisms, they intersect with other aspects of people’s identities, including indigeneity (i.e., Indigenous identity), age, ability and social class.  Scholars therefore emphasize that Indigenous feminisms should consider multiple aspects of identity. To focus on only one or two creates incomplete and flawed understandings.

Indigenous feminisms are also concerned with the ways that gender is embedded in broader power relations, and with the ways that sexism, racism and colonialism are structures of oppression that operate together. Scholars Maile Arvin (of Kanaka Maoli ancestry), Eve Tuck (Unangax) and Angie Morrill (Klamath) (in addition to many other Indigenous feminists) have argued that ‘settler colonialism has been and continues to be a gendered process.’ That is, the impacts of settler colonialism are targeted and experienced differently depending on one’s gender. It is well-documented, for instance, that Indigenous women on average experience higher rates of gender-based violence, have lower incomes and have less political representation compared to Indigenous men and non-Indigenous women.  Too often these realities are ignored by settler communities and can even be disregarded within some Indigenous communities as well.” [1]

Footnotes:

[1] Nickel, S. & Snyder, E. (2019). Indigenous Feminisms in Canada. In The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/indigenous-feminisms-in-canada

See also: Arvin, M., Tuck, E., & Morrill, A. (2013). “Decolonizing feminism: Challenging connections between settler colonialism and heteropatriarchy.” Feminist Formations. 25(1), 8-34. Retrieved from https://muse.jhu.edu/article/504601

A focus upon Indigenous masculinity entails consideration of the many forces shaping how masculinity and manhood is experienced by Indigenous individuals. This entails both a resurgence of traditional ways of knowing and identifying, as well as a critical analysis of the ways in which “Indigenous men and masculinities have been profoundly impacted by colonization, hegemonic masculinities and the heteronormative patriarchal system of white supremacy.” [1]

For instance, “[t]he assimilation of invader masculinity into Indigenous masculinity led to the public face of power at least to be exclusively male. Indigenous masculine leadership came to reflect modernity’s masculinity. Similarly, Indigenous heterosexuality came to reflect such a sentiment where Indigenous women became the property of men and, thus, under these conditions were given very little say in the matter.” [2]

As a result, “traditional Indigenous masculinities were violently displaced and subordinated by colonial masculinities. The colonial milieu of white settler society with its political economic, social and cultural practices usurped Indigenous culture, tradition and gender systems.” [1] Cultural teachings therefore “offer means of regenerating an egalitarian way of life.” [1]

Footnotes:

[1] Darcy, C. (2016) Indigenous men and masculinities: Legacies, identities, regeneration, NORMA: International Journal for Masculinity Studies, 11:2, 129-131. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/18902138.2016.1181407

[2] Hokowhitu, B. (2016). “Excerpt from Indigenous Men and Masculinities.”  Retrieved from https://uofmpress.ca/blog/entry/excerpt-from-indigenous-men-and-masculinties-brendan-hokowhitu

“Indigiqueer is another term sometimes used alongside or to refer to the Two-Spirit identity; more often it is a term used by some LGBTQ+ Indigenous people who do not self-identify as Two-Spirit, or by those who identify with both.” [1]

Learn More:

• Webinar: Gender-Based Violence Against Two Spirit/Indigiqueer People – Learning Network

Footnotes:

[1] University of Alberta. (n.d.). Subject guides: Equity, diversity, & inclusivity: Library resources: Two-spirit. 

Infantilization “is a form of abuse in which a competent adult or young adult is treated like a child.” [1]

Infantilization can occur with individuals or communities that lack power including older adults, women, racialized communities, 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals, adolescents, individuals with disabilities and more. [1] Infantilization can lead to negative stereotypes, prejudice, discrimination, oppressive policies, and even violence.

Learn More:  

• Issue - Addressing Sexual Violence and Promoting the Sexual Rights of Women Labelled with Intellectual Disabilities

Footnotes:

[1] Epstein, R., Bock, S.D., Drew, M.J., & Scandalis, Z. (2022). Infantilization across the life span: A large-scale internet study suggests that emotional abuse is especially damaging. Motivation and Emotion, 47, pp 137-163. Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11031-022-09989-4

“The Innu Nation is the organization that formally represents the Innu of Labrador, approximately 2200 persons, most of whom live in the two Innu communities of Sheshatshiu and Natuashish. The Sheshatsiu Innu live in the community of Sheshatshiu while the Mushuau Innu live in the community of Natuashish. Some Innu also live in other communities within Labrador and on the Island part of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.” [1]

“In order to protect their interests, their land and their rights from outside forces the Innu people first organized themselves in 1976 under the Naskapi Montagnais Innu Association (NMIA). In 1990, the NMIA changed its name to the Innu Nation. Today the Innu Nation forms the governing body of the Labrador Innu.” [1]

Footnotes:

[1] Innu Nation. (n.d.). Welcome to innu.ca! Retrieved from https://www.innu.ca

“Intimate partner violence (IPV) specialists are individuals who deliver services, train, and supervise others, and renew practices within the IPV sector.” [1]

“IPV specialists include advocates who support and work with women and children in shelters or community agencies, providers of services to support children who have experienced IPV, facilitators of services for men who have behaved abusively towards their partners and children, and individuals and teams within larger organizations who are the ‘go to’ specialists for IPV.” [1]

Learn More:

• Webinar: Recognizing Critical Expertise: A Knowledge and Skills Framework for Intimate Partner Violence Specialists – Learning Network
• Report: Recognizing Critical Expertise: A Knowledge and Skills Framework for Intimate Partner Violence Specialists – Centre for Research & Education on Violence Against Women & Children

Footnotes:

[1] Scott, K., Baker, L., Jennery, A., Lopex, J., Straatman, A.L., Antwi-Mansah, D., Cullen, O., Jones, K., Pietsch, N., and Expert Working Group Members. (2022). Recognizing critical expertise: A knowledge and skills framework for intimate partner violence specialists. London, ON: Centre for Research & Education on Violence Against Women and Children. https://www.learningtoendabuse.ca/docs/GBVExpertiseReport-June2022.pdf

“Inuit are an Indigenous people living primarily in Inuit Nunangat.” [1]
“The majority of [the Inuit] population lives in 51 communities spread across Inuit Nunangat, the Inuit homeland encompassing 35 percent of Canada’s landmass and 50 percent of its coastline. [Inuit] have lived in our homeland since time immemorial. [Inuit] communities are among the most culturally resilient in North America. Roughly 60 percent of Inuit report an ability to conduct a conversation in Inuktut (the Inuit language), and [Inuit] people harvest country foods such as seal, narwhal and caribou to feed… families and communities.” [2]

Learn More:

• Website: Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada

Footnotes:

[1] Inuit Nunangat “is a Canadian Inuit term that includes land, water, and ice,” which are integral to Inuit culture and way of life.

[2] Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami. (n.d.). About Canadian Inuit. Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami. Retrieved from https://www.itk.ca/about-canadian-inuit/

“Intergenerational trauma is the transmission of historical oppression and its negative consequences across generations.” [1] It is “[a] collective complex trauma inflicted on a group of people who share a specific group identity or affiliation-ethnicity, nationality, and religious affiliation. It is the legacy of numerous traumatic events a community experiences over generations and encompasses the psychological and social responses to such events.” [2]

Learn More: 

• Webinar: Indigenous Cultural Responsiveness Theory (ICRT): A New Tool for Improving Health Outcomes for FNMI (First Nations, Metis and Inuit) Peoples – Learning Network
• Webinar: Intergenerational Trauma, Aboriginal Worldviews and Education – University of Toronto

Footnotes:

[1] University of Calgary. (2012). Intervention to Address Intergenerational Trauma: Overcoming, Resisting and Preventing Structural Violence. 

[2] Evans-Campbell, T. (2008). Historical Trauma in American Indian/Native Alaska Communities. Journal of Interpersonal Violence,23(3), 316-338. doi:10.1177/0886260507312290

“When members of a marginalized group accept negative aspects of stereotypes assigned to them by the dominant group and begin to believe that they are inferior. The incorporation by individuals within an oppressed group of the prejudices against them within the dominant society can result in self-hatred, self-concealment, fear of violence, feelings of inferiority, resignation, isolation, and powerlessness. It is a mechanism within an oppressive system for perpetuating power imbalance.” [1]

Footnotes:

[1] The519. (n.d.). The 519’s Glossary of Terms, facilitating shared understandings around equity, diversity, inclusion and awareness. Retrieved from http://www.the519.org/education-training/glossary

Interpersonal violence refers to violence between individuals and can be subdivided into family and intimate partner violence and community violence.

Family and intimate partner violence includes child maltreatment, intimate partner violence, and elder abuse.

Community violence “is broken down into acquaintance and stranger violence and includes youth violence; assault by strangers; violence related to property crimes; and violence in workplaces/institutions.” [1]

Footnotes:

[1] World Health Organization. (n.d.). Definition and typology of violence. 

Intersectionality is a concept and analytic framework coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw and further developed by numerous scholars, advocates, and activists. [1]  “Intersectionality is a useful framework for examining how forms of privilege and disadvantage shape women’s experiences of violence and their access to resources and supports.” [2]

“Intersectionality is made up of 3 basic building blocks: social identities, systems of oppression, and the ways in which they intersect.

• Social Identities are based on the groups or communities a person belongs to. These groups give people a sense of who they are. For example, social class, race/ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation are all social identities. A person is usually a member of many different groups or communities at once; in this way, social identities are multidimensional. An individual’s social location is defined by all the identities or groups to which they belong.

• Systems of Oppressions refer to larger forces and structures operating in society that create inequalities and reinforce exclusion. These systems are built around societal norms and are constructed by the dominant group(s) in society. They are maintained through language (e.g. “That’s so gay”), social interactions (e.g. “catcalling” women), institutions (e.g. when school curriculum does not acknowledge residential schools), and laws and policies (e.g. immigration policies that make it difficult for new Canadians to access health services). Systems of oppression include racism, colonialism, heterosexism, class stratification, gender inequality, and ableism.

• Social identities and systems of oppression do not exist in isolation. Instead, they can be thought of as intersecting or interacting. In other words, individuals’ experiences are shaped by the ways in which their social identities intersect with each other and with interacting systems of oppression. For instance, a person can be both black, a woman, and elderly. This means she may face racism, sexism, and ageism as she navigates everyday life, including experiences of violence.” [2]

In the case of intimate partner violence (IPV), “people of intersecting identities are affected by oppression in different ways and therefore have unique experiences of IPV and we should not assume that survivors of IPV speak with only one voice.” [3] “Intersectionality influences whether, why, how, and from whom help is sought; experiences with and responses by service providers and justice systems; how abuse is defined; and what options seem feasible, including escape and safety concerns. Policies and programs that do not include an intersectional dimension exclude survivors of IPV who exist at points of intersection between inequalities.” [4]

Learn More:

• Issue-Based Newsletter: Intersectionality – Learning Network
  
• Issue-Based Newsletter: Indigenous Women, Intimate Partner Violence & Housing – Learning Network
• Issue-Based Newsletter: Women, Intimate Partner Violence & Homelessness – Learning Network
• Issue-Based Newsletter: Intimate Partner Violence in Rainbow Communities – Learning Network

Footnotes:

[1] Crenshaw, K. (1989). Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics. University of Chicago Legal Forum. 1989, iss. 1 art. 8, pp.  139-167. Retrieved from https://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1052&context=uclf

[2] Baker, L., LaLonde, D., & Tabibi, J. (2017, December). Women, Intimate Partner Violence, & Homelessness.  Retrieved from http://www.vawlearningnetwork.ca/our-work/issuebased_newsletters/issue-22/Newsletter_Issue_22-Online1.pdf

[3] Baker, L., Etherington, N., & Barreto, E. (2015, October). Intersectionality. Retrieved from http://www.vawlearningnetwork.ca/our-work/issuebased_newsletters/issue-15/Issue 15Intersectioanlity_Newsletter_FINAL2.pdf

[4] Baker, L., Straatman, A., & Etherington, N. (2015, April). Intimate Partner Violence in Rainbow Communities. Retrieved from http://www.learningtoendabuse.ca/our-work/pdfs/Rainbow_Newsletter_Print_InHouse.pdf

“Intimate partner violence refers to physical, sexual, or psychological harm by a current or former partner or spouse and can also be called dating violence between couples who are not married.” [1]

“Intimate partner violence often occurs as physical violence. However, there are many other forms of violence or abuse, including emotional abuse, verbal abuse, sexual abuse and financial abuse. Intimate partner violence also has a criminal component, as it can involve criminal offences such as assault, uttering threats or harassment, and can even lead to homicide.” [2] “Most victims of intimate partner violence are female.” [2]

Learn More:

• Infographic: Intimate partner violence in a pandemic: COVID-19 related controlling behaviours – Learning Network
• Issue-Based Newsletter: Women, intimate partner violence, & homelessness – Learning Network
• Issue-Based Newsletter: Intimate partner sexual violence – Learning Network
• Webinar: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) and intimate partner violence: Implications of the co-occurrence of PTSD & TBI – Learning Network

Footnotes:

[1] Public Health Agency of Canada. (2014). What is family violence? Public Health Agency of Canada. Government of Canada, Ottawa, ON. Retrieved from https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/health-promotion/stop-family-violence/family-violence.html

[2] Beaupré, P. (2015). Family violence in Canada: A statistical profile, 2013. Juristat, 34, 1. Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Statistics Canada, Ottawa, ON. Catalogue no. 85-002-X. Retrieved from https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002-x/2014001/article/14114-eng.pdf

Islamophobia is a form of racism and consists of “a fear or hatred of Muslim people that results in discrimination, exclusion and violence against Muslims. Islamophobia is based on false and toxic ideas that Muslims are less than human, demonic, terrorists, or trying to take over the country. These toxic ideas are spread through the media and social media. Islamophobia mostly affects Muslims, but Sikhs and other groups who have been mistaken as Muslim can also face Islamophobia.” [1]

Islamophobia can be gendered in its portrayal of Muslim women as victims of their religion, exotic and hyper-sexualized, and weak or passive. [2]

• • Brief: Unlearning Islamophobia in Anti-Violence Against Women Work – Sidrah Ahmad
  • Issue-Based Newsletter: Intimate Partner Violence Against Immigrant and Refugee Women – Learning Network

Footnotes:

[1] Ahmad, Sidrah. (2018). Rivers of hope: A toolkit on Islamophobic violence by and for Muslim women. Access through: https://www.riversofhopetoolkit.ca/

[2] Ahmad, Sidrah. (2018). Unlearning Islamphobia in anti-violence against women work. Learning Network Brief 34. London, Ontario: Learning Network, Centre for Research and Education on Violence Against Women and Children. Retrieved from http://www.vawlearningnetwork.ca/our-work/briefs/brief-34.html